New express buses to Miami run into problems

Some of Broward County's new express buses are breaking down, struggling to make it over railroad tracks and carrying commuters at a 10 mph crawl down Interstate 95.

The sleek buses, which cost $739,000 apiece, come equipped with high back seating, WiFi and charging stations – and several problems not expected from brand new equipment. It's frustrating passengers, making them late to work, and forcing them to endure the commuter hassles that taking a bus was supposed to help them avoid.

The problems are plaguing a 25-mile route that began running last October from far western Sunrise to Miami's Civic Center. Passengers say it's one thing when a city bus breaks down, but when a long distance express bus falters, they can't get off and find alternate transportation.

Officials say the buses are under warranty and they are addressing the concerns. Among them:

One express bus slogged down Interstate 95 stuck in low gear because of a transmission problem. The bus driver pulled to the side of the road and turned off the engine so it could "reset."

Another bus couldn't make it over the railroad tracks at the Fort Lauderdale Airport Tri-Rail station in Dania Beach. Again, the driver stopped the bus, turned off the engine to reset it while passengers sat in the dark for 20 minutes.

After the driver restarted the engine and got on I-95, the bus started "shaking and pitching as if seizing." After stopping and starting again, the bus pooped out at the bottom of an exit ramp.

Passengers complained of being held on the broken bus instead of being allowed to leave and wait for another bus.

"I realize this does not constitute holding a passenger hostage, but I assure you that being forced to ride a notoriously broken bus by force is not pleasant," said one rider in an email to the director of the Florida Public Transportation Association. "I was nearly an hour late for work."

Officials said passengers are free to leave and board a bus whenever it is at a stop. But in the Tri-Rail station incident, they said the bus driver incorrectly assumed the bus was fixed.

Broward County Transit spokeswoman Phyllis Berry said the problem affects a couple of the 14 buses purchased for the express routes from Broward to Miami. "The buses are under warranty," she said, adding "we expect the problem to be corrected soon."

Most of the mechanical problems occurred on bus No. 1171, which continued to be put back into service, only to break down again. Officials say the "intermittent" transmission problems are being addressed. They could not explain why the problem bus was continually put back into service.

Passengers who ride daily learn to identify buses by their numbers. Whenever they saw the 1171 bus pull up, they would groan "because 50 percent of the time it is in use, it will fail," a rider said in an email to the transportation association.

If passengers choose to avoid getting on a bus with problems, they must wait 25 to 30 minutesfor another one to come.

The state gave the county $13.9 million to purchase 14 buses as part of the reconstruction of Interstate 595.

Prior to the express buses, there was no limited-stop service between Broward and Miami. Commuters can take Tri-Rail, but in most cases they must take a bus or shuttle to get from the station to work. The express buses drop passengers off a few blocks from work.

Broward runs express buses from Sunrise to downtown Fort Lauderdale and downtown Miami, and from the Westgate Village Shopping Center in far western Sunrise to the Miami Civic Center.

It also runs buses from Pembroke Pines and Hollywood to downtown Miami and from Miramar to the Civic Center.

All of these Broward to Daderoutes carry nearly a combined 2,200 riders a day in April, the most recent figures available.